When you're Volkswagen's Spanish subsidiary Seat, and you rely on Volkswagen platforms and engines, how do you distinguish yourselves? Simple: you take their cars and make them better. That's what I think they did with the new Seat Leon Cupra hot hatchback.

The Leon Cupra is, essentially, a 2015 Volkswagen GTI, except cheaper and with much more power. It's based on the MQB platform, uses a 2.0-liter TSI engine, and comes in two flavors: one with 265 horsepower and one with 280 horsepower.

The latter, tested here by XCAR, puts the Cupra on par with the Golf R, though it lacks that car's all-wheel drive. For a while it was the fastest front-drive car around the Nürburgring, though a Renault took it down recently.

Sounds like an impressive package to me. If I lived in Europe, I'd pick one of these up over a GTI and spend the extra change on gas. I know I'd need it.